(Part One of an Extensive Investigation into the Sun 'n Fun
Fly-In)

For many years, a culture of
benevolent brotherhood (or sisterhood) had existed at the multitude
of fly-ins that took place each year at popular airfields all over
North America. Associated with one organization or another, these
were strictly voluntary affairs that stressed a spirit of
cooperation, the common bond that exists among aviators, and a
simple desire to enjoy the aviation world (and each other's
company) during a few days in which all these interests came
together. For many years, these pleasant interludes were
non-political, inexpensive, and designed solely for the benefit of
all those who came together under the shared banner of a common
love of aviation. They were amazing days...

Then, while we barely noticed, something truly unfortunate
occurred. While a few of these fly-ins grew to be more popular than
others -- many deservedly so and for all the right reasons
(Arlington, WA, comes to mind) -- a few grew despite more
"negative" motivations. The few who managed to maintain a sense of
caring, made great efforts to keep the events pleasant, affordable
and safe.

But; a few others went afoul of their original purpose and
seemed to lose their focus. Political kingsmanship became an
over-riding and controlling factor in their management; a concern
for attendees was replaced by other more-selfish motives (money and
ego, among others); the sense of brotherhood started disappearing;
the cost of attending spiraled out of control; and the safety of
such events was negatively affected while, ultimately, people were
killed, hurt or otherwise harmed.

Under the veil of their parent
organizations, criticism of such problems was downplayed as being
the product of people who, at first, 'weren't team players;' while
later warnings were simply ignored or countered with bluster;
or even countered even with outright falsehoods.

The pro-aviation orientation of some fly-ins suffered, as more
profit-oriented concerns took their place (even to the point where
aviation-oriented attractions, vendors and exhibitors were turned
away while non-aviation entities gained access), and aviators grew
more and more alienated from the original mission originally -- and
recently -- espoused by these events.

The worst example, based on our experience, is the Sun 'n Fun
Fly-In, an event that seems to have abandoned any real primary
interest in serving the interests of aviation, the truth, or (most
importantly) the well-being of those who attend or exhibit at the
event.

The saga of the many problems that occur each year, at what
appears to be the most consistently-risky aviation event in North
America, have long been detailed here on ANN.

Sun 'n Fun, Specifically

However, even we have to express
surprise at recent disclosures that further confirm our suspicions
that the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In is more than just "poorly run" by a
group that seems more interested in ego than accomplishment; and it
now appears that SnF may be the most (potentially) deadly aviation
event in the country. The foundation of these allegations is
growing.

Sources that first sought out ANN, and others that have come
forward later, allege a litany of abuse of power, political
maneuvering, conflict of interest, ignorance -- and an atrocious
lack of concern over safety. The hazards allegedly arise from the
action/inaction of senior Sun 'n Fun officials and FAA personnel;
and are made worse by dated, inefficient procedures and protocols
that appear to be causative, in part, of the deaths of several
pilots; and in the accidents that have befallen many more. Worse,
these sources paint a worrisome picture of little change from years
past, leaving the same hazards in place, causing one highly-placed
Sun 'n Fun insider to remark, "I wonder who they'll kill this
year."

Over the next several days, ANN will
present the results of investigations and discussions with a number
of parties. Like many of those who have found fault with Sun 'n
Fun, many of our sources fear retribution, personally and
professionally, citing their concern that Sun 'n Fun and/or the FAA
will try to counter their criticism through negative pressures that
would adversely affect their reputations, jobs or ability to enjoy
the world of aviation. When requested, we have protected their
identities, but we will be sharing all our recordings and
appropriate notes with corporate counsel, who will have to keep our
confidences, but can say (as officers of the court), that our
sources do exist, to counter the usual nay-saying we expect from
Sun 'n Fun, FAA, et al.

We've tried like hell to get the point and counter-point in
these issues. Please note that our usual attempts to contact Sun 'n
Fun have been rebuffed, that the City of Lakeland has not returned
our calls; the FAA has not only refused to let us speak to key
personnel in this story, but has decided that we must file FOIA
requests for even the most basic requests for information, while
also making obviously incorrect statements about other issues
involving Sun 'n Fun.

Sigh.

For the moment, though, let us summarize the many concerns (some
serious, even potentially deadly, some not -- but all seemingly
intertwined) that have been expressed to us (with documentation and
corroboration), from pilots, SnF-associated staffers, aviation
experts, controllers, and others.

Here's what we're hearing and seeing:

1. Sun 'n Fun's air traffic
environment relies on poorly-planned and dated protocols that have
seen little improvement over the years, as well as (some)
controllers not prepared/qualified to staff such a high-workload
event. Political issues; FAA mis-management; NATCA's inability to
overcome many obstacles; rampant conflicts of interest; the
use/appointment of under-qualified/trained controllers; poor
working conditions among the controller staff; lack of proper
tools, equipment, fixtures and protocols; interference from Sun 'n
Fun staffers/management; outdated procedures; an unwillingness to
adapt to other (more successful) solutions; and "institutional
arrogance" have been cited by several authorities (pilots,
controllers, staffers, etc.) as reasons that they believe that the
Sun 'n Fun Fly-In contains numerous unnecessary hazards and
opportunities for disaster.

2. Sun 'n Fun's ground
operations may be the most dangerous, especially to spectators, of
any Fly-In. Dozens of pilots/observers, as well as several
experts and insiders have decried the manner in which Sun 'n Fun
runs moving aircraft in such close proximity to spectators. Of
special concern are operations through well-traveled taxiways, the
warbird area, and the proximity of parking and highly-trafficked
areas to low-flying arrival and departure paths where troubled
aircraft might have to come down.

3. The lightplane operations area is simply too confined,
bordered too closely by parking and spectators, as well as other
obstacles, to allow safe operations. Further, operational
supervision of the area reportedly leaves much to be desired:
errors have been made that appear to have resulted in hazardous
situations. For example, One death and one injury occurred at SnF
2001, when an aircraft was dispatched with a 12 kt downwind
component, running off the runway, into a known obstacle (a ditch).
No attempt was reportedly made to change the pattern despite the
obviously adverse conditions. Worse, had the accident occurred in
the opposite direction, the aircraft could have crashed in a
populated parking lot and could have harmed spectators.

4. Sun 'n Fun (by and large) refuses to deal with the issue of
unscrupulous vendors and other parties. While no one expects (or
wants) SnF to play 'sky-cop,' one certainly does not expect the
organization to ignore overt and oft-repeated complaints from
customers defrauded by vendors who travel, year to year, to this
event. Worse: there are a number of cases in which Sun 'n Fun seems
to have taken a stance of defending vendors who have, without
doubt, conned or defrauded attendees.

5. Sun 'n Fun seems intolerant of suggestions of change or
improvement. There is no question that Sun 'n Fun does not take
well to criticism and that their displeasure over such has
reportedly resulted in insults, threats, at least two known
incidents that might be characterized as "assault," legal action
(or threats of same), libel, slander and outright banishment, even
from properties controlled by the federal government (and in
reported violation of federal law).

6. There seems to be "Something
Rotten in Denmark" inside the Sun 'n Fun organization. The
organization seems to be coming apart at the seams. A number of
once-pivotal persons with this organization have either been fired
or have resigned (or been forced out), and many of them are NOT
happy about it. Staffed heavily by volunteers (who have
usually proven to be amazing people), a number of SnF Insiders
(including former paid staff) indicate that volunteer morale is
suffering and that treatment of volunteers has become
unacceptable.

7. The association between Sun 'n Fun and EAA/Oshkosh grows ever
more troubled (even combative) as Sun 'n Fun suffers greatly from
"Oshkosh Envy." It is no secret that the once close relationship
between former parent organization (EAA) and the Sun 'n Fun
organization (whose corporate structure, once incorporated as the
Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In, is now re-incorporated as the Sun 'n Fun
Fly-In, Inc.) has fallen on harder times.

8. Government organizations seem unwilling or conflicted in
taking any overt action involving Sun 'n Fun. We're amazed that a
number of local and federal government agencies haven't been more
proactive, (or reactive, for that matter) in dealing with Sun 'n
Fun issues. That is, until you see FAA and Lakeland City officials
gifted with positions on the Sun 'n Fun board, offered
"courtesies," or otherwise rewarded. This may be one of the
most-entrenched "good ol' boy" networks in aviation.

9. Sun 'n Fun often attacks its critics in surprisingly
aggressive and questionable ways. This organization not only
doesn't take well to criticism, but has an alarming tendency to
attack its critics (often with personal attacks or blatantly false
and/or unproveable allegations) and has been fairly successful in
stifling dissent from critics, ex-employees, etc.

10. The aviation public seems
to be getting sick of Sun n Fun, exhibitors are increasingly
pessimistic (if not bailing out), and attendance is definitely on
the decline. ANN received letters and e-mails from people
indicating that nearly 11,000 pilots and associates would be
bypassing last year's event; and we expect a greater number, this
year. While they were obviously upset over the bizarre ban that Sun
'n Fun has imposed on a certain journalist (yr. obdt. svt.), a
great many had a litany of other complaints, horror stories and
reasons that they were citing as additional reasons to elect to NOT
attend this event. In light of the growing disenchantment and
building negative momentum, we fear this event may be
unsalvageable.

There's more, but you get the idea. This is a summary of the
issues we'll be dealing with over the next several days. We intend
to offer this series on a daily basis, but we must note that with
all this AND war coverage, some interruptions may occur. We will
update ALL stories to use associated links so that you can keep all
these pieces organized and accessible.

Significant hazards exist at SnF, especially for those flying in
(or those walking in the many areas that offer less than optimal
separation between spectators and moving aircraft). In other words,
"Watch your six, your twelve -- and the rest of the clock."

We add this: we're well past the
point where we can even think of recommending attendance at this
event. If you want to attend a major fly-in, we recommend you look
to the annual EAA Fly-In in Oshkosh (WI), this July and
bypass this Fly-In. Oshkosh has problems, too, but not
nearly as pervasive or as dangerous as those we've encountered (and
been briefed on) at Sun 'n Fun. Attend a major Fly-In (or best of
all, the AOPA Expo) this year at Oshkosh, Arlington or Copperstate
-- forget Lakeland. In our opinion, it's simply
too risky, too expensive, too restrictive, too uncaring -- and not
nearly that much fun any more -- to deserve your attendance or your
support.

Why You Don't Have To Go: We Go

One caveat:
Despite our problems and misgivings about this event, ANN will send
its usual team of journalists (including Jim Campbell, though he
may be turned away again in apparent violation of the Constitution
of the United States of America) to this event so that proper news
events and issues will continue to be covered professionally and
accurately. A lot of the fun we used to have doing this is long
gone, but professionalism dictates that we be there and to do the
best job we can of reporting legitimate news. [However, if this
event keeps declining, we may decide not to cover it in future
years, in favor of more legitimately newsworthy events. This thing
is tanking fast. We'll keep you apprised --EIC.]

We will note one thing with some amusement... if Sun 'n Fun
hadn't been so aggressive in their harassment and attempts to
intimidate/silence ANN's Jim Campbell, we strongly doubt that a lot
of what we're discovering would have come to light -- but when
somone is fighting a journalist this viciously, it's an easy bet
that some digging will turn up why... and that's just what we've
done.

Next: ANN looks at last year's deadly Sun 'n
Fun mid-air, some of the sad factors involved, speaks to quite a
few people with strong first-hand knowledge of the issues, and why
previous tragedies might
still happen--again.